Quinathryn
Quinathryn (lit. "Abyssal Home") is a continent far to the southeast of Tamriel. Inhospitable and alien, its geography is marked by colossal pits that reach incredibly deep into the earth. It is notable for being the home continent of the Laumer, until they went on an exodus to Tamriel after the largest of Quinathryn's abysses was flooded and their cities were drowned by the sea. History The known history of Quinathryn begins in the Merethic Era, when Aldmeri voyagers discovered the continent after their flight from their home continent of Aldmeris. Though the surface of Quinathryn is highly inhospitable and mostly uninhabitable, the Aldmer settled nonetheless, instead choosing to dwell in the gigantic chasms that dot the land, which, despite not allowing the elves much sunlight, were more temperate and gave them safe haven. Here, they built their settlements into the sides of the chasms, shaping a new home for themselves. At some point in time, conjectured by some scholars to be sometime in the First Era, the elves made a discovery that changed their society drastically. Before this point, no one had ever managed to reach the bottom of one of the smaller pits of Quinathryn, one that would be called Loradas after this point. They eventually learned that this was because it did not have a bottom; instead, they found that there was a rift into a different plane of existence down there, where they discovered the entities they now worship as the Lau'ada: the Drowned Gods. These otherworldly beings made the elves collectively fall into a debased, grim society adherent to the impossible, maddening knowledge the Lau'ada dispensed to them. Around this time, the elves would also begin calling themselves Laumer, or Drowned Elves. Quinathryn remained undisturbed by outside influence for most of the rest of history, with the notable exception of Tsaesci explorers arriving on the coast once, only to be captured and subsequently killed by the Laumer. The disappearance of these explorers sparked an expeditionary force to be sent out after them. When these also came into contact with the Laumer, the hostilities sparked a short war between the two races, which ended when the Tsaesci were crushed in a battle in the city of Elyr in Loradas, in which a multitude of the snake folk were cast into the pit and thus sacrificed to the Lau'ada. The Tsaesci subsequently never attempted to come to Quinathryn again. Exodus During the first years of the Fifth Era, the structural integrity of the land between the ocean and the pit of Baenelor crumbled during a cataclysmic storm, eventually collapsing and allowing the sea to flood Baenelor altogether. In light of this, the Laumer saw it coming, but could not stop it, and soon the majority of them would be bereft of their homes; nearly 70% of the population used to reside in the cities in Baenelor. Without sufficient space for her people to live once Baenelor were to collapse, the Laumeri queen, Isarhel, decided that the Laumer would have to leave Quinathryn and find a new home. As such, in 5E 7, the great exodus occurred: the Laumer embarked on a gigantic fleet towards the northwest, leaving Quinathryn behind. Only a few decided to remain; most of them Clerics of the Drowned Gods who were unwilling to leave the pit of Loradas. Category:The Darkest Night Category:Locations Category:Continents